Write about the ways Hossieni tells the story in Chapter 18 of The Kite Runner.
In chapter 18 of The Kite Runner, Hosseini continues to use a first person narrative, however the manipulation of past participles allows him to write from the perspective of Baba and Ali on occasion. The effect of this is haunting as the narration symbolises ghosts from the past, which is a dominant theme in the Kite Runner, and creates a reading experience which emulates suffocation. The chapter is told via analepsis, this is a key linguistic mechanism in deconstructing the psyche of Amir. By Chapter 18 he is truly a broken man; he is an orphan, infertile, betrayed his best-friend, and the man he considers a father is dying. In chapter 18 these psychological attributes culminate and form an Amir who reflects the setting in which he is narrating this chapter, Pakistan. Pakistan is an in-between place in Amir's journey, reflecting Amir who is on the cusp of realising his true potential - through the intertwining of setting (Pakistan) and character (Amir), Hosseini foreshadows an ending where Amir will achieve repentance and is entirely happy. On the other hand, the broken tone in which the chapter is written emulates that of a suicide note, the conjuring of past images and "gods greatest sin" suggests Amir is contemplating suicide at this point as he has "let down everyone I love", thus subverting the foreshadowed ending of repentance through the reflective symbolic imagery of character and setting.
This leads me onto setting which is a small teashop in Pakistan, “I walked into a smoky little samovar house.” This significance of the teashop can be that of normality, something which has become a rarity in Amir's life as a result of the downward spiral of lies and deceit, the connotations of this setting are humble and modest, a trait which entirely contradicts Amir. The setting of the "smoky little samovar house" is reminiscent of Hassan who was always happy with simple things, as Hassan was the archetypal good character, the setting in this chapter could suggest Amir is becoming increasingly good as the novel progresses. However another interpretation of the setting would be the social and financial character arc which Amir has undertaken, the humble setting completely contradicts Amir's old "lavish" way of life, previously being a boy "who was afraid of getting his hands dirty" the "smoky little Samover house" could be a metaphor used to evoke a sense of sympathy for Amir's character as it is a true reflection of how far he is willing to go for repentance. On the other hand the "smokey Samover house" could be symbolic of more ominous themes, pragmatically "smokey" is attributed to obscurity, more specifically the obscurity of Amir's future. Amir is undertaking a journey which can very easily end in his death, therefore the "smoky" imagery subverts the previous foreshadowing of a happy ending and evokes a sense of tension and doubt in the reader.
The discourse of Chapter 18 is short, it's primary function is to bridge the gap between Chapter 17 and 19, its entire function is to tie up loose ends in the narrative. Conversly, I would argue the chapter's function is more than merely progressing the narrative, it provides a real insight into the character of Amir, learning his "deep, dark secrets". It is captivating as the seemingly random placement of the chapter, and deconstruction of Amir's psyche, foreshadows the eventual demise of Amir as it suggests we are getting to know the real Amir now as he is ultimately going to die. This chapter is a reflection of Amir's mind; weighing up the opportunity for ultimate freedom, for a chance to be finally free, Hosseini gives the reader an insight to the mind of someone who is very aware they might die soon. The reason as to why this chapter is so short could be because Amir. His cognition is symbolised by the chapter's length, beginning with the pressure of the past and ending with a snap decision. Amir is not strong mentally or physically and this is truly emulated by the length of this discourse, in order to escape from his past he makes decisions which will improve or worsen his future.
The setting of the sky in the chapter is important, “blood red sky,” and, “purple and red,” could symbolise the rape which stimulated Amir's journey to Pakistan and hasbeen the reason for his guilt-ridden mind for 27 years. It is as if he can never escape his pasts mentally or physically, thus influencing his decision to save Sohrab, despite knowing it could end in death. The fact that these colour make Amir guilty could be why he knows he cannot escape the truth of what happened on the night of the kite tournament, the reason why he is suffering thirty years later. The colour ‘blood’ can not only signify Hassan’s rape, as blood has connotations with under-age rape, but also the literal blood which both Amir and Hassan share. On the other hand, this could be very subtle foreshadowing on Hosseini's part as Amir ultimately ends up battered and bruised by Assef, therefore when looking up at the "Blood red sky" he is not seeing the past, he is actually seeing what he must suffer in order to gain redemption.